Lori LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Gulf Economic Survival Team, issued the following statement today on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) releasing of its 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program (DPP):

“GEST champions BOEM’s 2019-2024 OCS Draft Proposed Program and recognizes it as a major sign of optimism for our country’s potential in being the world-leader in energy production. We appreciate this administration and BOEM for recognizing the full potential of increasing access in Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) areas such as Alaska, Atlantic, Pacific and especially in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) where there are vast amounts of unexplored natural resources. With increasing OCS access, our country has the opportunity to maximize those natural resources in order to continue producing dependable energy, creating thousands of good-paying jobs and providing immense economic stability for our nation.

“The new 2019-2024 DPP is a sensible program for the United States as it considers 90% of all of the OCS acreage that is available and allows us to maximize America’s abundant OCS oil and gas resources and benefit from the revenues generated by offshore production. In fact, The Gulf accounts for nearly one-fifth of our nation’s oil production and contributes over $5 to $8 billion dollars directly to The U.S. Treasury each year — making it the second largest revenue stream for the federal government.

“The energy produced offshore in the Gulf of Mexico creates good-paying jobs throughout our country and we are very pleased that this administration embraces the importance of the offshore oil and gas industry, which will continue to lead the way towards American energy dominance.”